@dfbdfb I was ready to sign up for Industrial Engineering when we toured U Buffalo. Of course, I was ready to sign up for pretty much everything, so it probably just means I’m an easy sell. But it does seem like a great major.
@gusmahler - Totally agree that it isn’t worth the extra effort, time and money. Plus, I’m sure many of the schools to which S will apply accept super scores, so he’ll have that 35. I definitely want him to move on to other things but I can see a little regret in him for not preparing more (or much at all 
).
@dfbdfb WPI is basically unloading the Brink’s Truck for female graduates from afar. She should definitely apply.
Not for son19, but who has been to Cornell? Feedback, comparisons etc. Is it really that brutal to study engineering stuff there? I’ve heard it’s pretty competitive, and the work load heavy. I’ve heard it described as beautiful and dreary, lol. Son has a friend that might like to go there, and he might actually have a legit shot at getting in. Son19 asked me about it, and I didn’t really have any insight. There are a few kids from our school that go there every year, but it’s a 5 1/2 hour drive for us, super hard to get into, etc, so Ive never really looked into it.
Can we revisit the Common App rollover discussion one more time? I’m sorry - I know it has been discussed upthread.
It is my understanding that S19 can set up an account now and fill in the demographic information as well as activities and upload an essay. And that information will roll over in the summer when CA updates their system? My D16 just did the whole thing in August and was done by the time school started. My son is a whole different animal…
Thank you.
@Samsmom2019 if he was going to write about that competition, too make it more interesting he can write about some sort of off shoot that pertains to the National Event.
So something like how he self taught himself to sew and created fabulous costumes for the event, how he researched fabrics and design, did research on former designs etc. Then he could talk about attending the event during the essay.
The essay would show that he is obviously a great skater because he went to nationals, but also how creative and industrious he is, with a flair for style.
Something like that
@RightCoaster I know two engineering students from my DS16’s class that are at Cornell. Word is that the academic load is heavy and unrelenting. They are brilliant kids but exhausted. No merit aid for either of them.
@RightCoaster Thank you!
@Samsmom2019 I think boy + ice dancing is going to be eye-catching, but it will be on the application regardless. If your son thinks of an incident or anecdote from his ice dancing experience, and is motivated to tell the story in a way that reveals his personality and essence, then great. But if not, no worries. It’s not the topic that counts, it’s whether the voice of the essay is authentic and gives the reader a sense of knowing the writer.
I haven’t brought up essay writing with D19–this is the girls who was too stressed out to take the SAT on Saturday! I may send her an article with tips to plant a seed, but for her, it might be best to wait until summer to start drafting.
@eandesmom I didn’t know that they might work on admissions essays in AP Lit. Will try to find out if our school does that!
@Samsmom2019 maybe one thing to think about is that your son won’t be “bringing” his ice skating talent to the school. You need him to show what he will bring to the campus. I’ve been warned about this with our ballerina. Don’t go crazy talking about what a talented dancer she is if the school does not offer dance. The kids need to write about what other talents they’ve developed while pursuing these adventures. And how those talents will make them a part of campus.
@homerdog hit the nail on the head. When we toured NU, the one thing we took away from the info session was “what do you have that NU wants”? Your essay needs to spell that out pretty clearly, using maybe not-so-obvious traits/skills/talents that have been gleaned, created, crafted, molded, perfected while pursuing a special talent, trip, job etc. They want to see you put some thought and effort into the essay. I know NU is obviously a pretty selective school, but I would imagine that this same process might bring your kids application to the top of the pile at some of the less selective ones as well, especially if it’s a school they really want to attend.
Professional journalist and marketing copywriter here. @Samsmom2019 , the goal of the essay is to share something about yourself that is not reflected in the application. Show personality. A glimpse into who you are as a human being.
Writing about winning an ice dancing competition and how great that makes you, for example, is not compelling. That’s just describing an EC.
Now, writing about being a male ice dancer and how that has shaped who you are and informs your outlook on life would be compelling. What is it about ice dancing that brings out the best or worst in you? What was an ice dancing related challenge that you overcame? How did doing so make you a better person? Describe the person who wants to come to their campus.That sort of thing. Go beyond GPAs and ECs.
My son is following in my footsteps and wants to major in English and writing. I showed him the Common App prompts and his brain started storming. When I told him that it has to be up to 600 words, he responded “That’s it?!?!?” That’s my kid. 
He probably won’t start writing until after the SATs in June. Not sure what he’ll write about. But I am not going to make suggestions. He’ll come to me with ideas and we’ll discuss. Kinda looking forward to it.
@RightCoaster My son attends Cornell but he is in the Dyson School. He is always busy with classwork, campus job, and tons of networking. He really likes the campus and claims to be used to the cold now. Food is very good.
I think Engineering is going to be tough everywhere. My oldest studied astrophysics (elsewhere) and was slammed with math and physics problems sets all the time.
Yet another day off from school, 18 more inches of snow expected today. 2 weeks ago I went for a bike ride in shorts and short sleeve jersey. Ha, living around here is wacky. You can almost predict every year, right before the start of spring sports season that we will be slammed with a big storm that makes the field unplayable for weeks, and the kids have to start the season practicing in the parking lot or indoor gym.
I just managed to set up some tours for son19 to some schools that he probably won’t get accepted too, lol.
@RightCoaster LOL. Our weather can be like that too. Many times, we have had snow here during spring break at the end of March. School tours to reaches? Ugh. I’ve considered that but I’m really worried now that S19 would fall in love with, say, Dartmouth or Brown. I don’t think we will visit because of that.
Well the reason he is going to see some reach type schools is that he has already toured his “likely” or match schools, and visited a safety. He went to MIT for a sports camp, but has about a 0.0007 chance of acceptance. There aren’t that many schools nearby with engineering programs that aren’t “reach types”, so we’ll go look at a few so that he can compare those types of schools vs tech schools like WPI/RPI.
If he didn’t want to study engineering it would be easier to visit more local schools, as there are a billion colleges within an hours drive.
Son was invited to participate in an anonymous focus group for recruited athletes at the flagship, so he’s doing an online survey kind of thing today. He gets a monetary stipend from the company running the survey, so he’s happy to do something useful and make some cash too.,
We’re visiting a couple of super reach schools this Spring Break, partly because I want S19 to be sure he wants to bother applying before filling out their long applications (and taking SAT subject tests - his matches and safeties don’t require them). I have a suspicion that he might not like them after visiting, since he’s not big on schools that feel like the city is “part” of them, with city roads running through them and “civilian” buildings intermingled with university buildings, but you never know.
Biggest reason, though, is that they’re in a spot which is a tourist destination in itself - I’ve been playing more Fallout 4 recently to prep for the Freedom Trail walk lol. (I’ve been to Boston, but husband and son never have).
@parent2one if you are coming to Boston and looking at schools, you should check all different types of schools while your here, because even if he doesn’t get into his dream reach school, there may be other schools in town he may enjoy attending. You can easily visit Harvard/MIT in the morning, and then cross the river and check out BU and Northeastern. Northeastern has it’s own little campus/quad and is tucked into part of the city that isn’t as crazy hectic, and the kids are pretty safe there. My son17 goes there, and is enjoying it a lot. He can explore a lot of Boston with ease, and there are a lot of good students there these days. BU is more urban, the campus sits on a major road and the T goes right thru it. It sits on the river though, and it’s easy to get around. Both schools have gotten very competitive to get in over the last 5 years.
We’ll definitely be walking through BU area, but have already warned son that based on NPC it wouldn’t be in reach for us financially. Same with Northeastern, unfortunately. Northeastern seems like a great school that might appeal to him, but it’s just too far outside our budget.
It’ll be a fun trip - doing a couple of days in NYC as tourists (no college tours there for us), then Boston for two nights, then two days’ drive to Huntsville, AL for two nights lol.
Rented a car since my CX9 - while wonderfully comfy - is not so great on the gas mileage!!
By the way, @RightCoaster, can you tell the Boston area weather to calm itself down before the first week of April?? LOL.
^It must calm itself down before the last week of March. (I haven’t been to the Northeast at this time of year in about 27 yrs… no idea what outerwear is needed for college tours there.)